


Old Souls

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Drama, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 09:27:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/796620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes dreams can tell you what you need to know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Souls

## Old Souls

by Rhiannon-Jehane

Jim and Blair belong to Pet Fly, not to me (unfortunately), and I'm not making any money off of this. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you to Reetchick and Alee for encouraging me to finish this after reading the rough draft. Thanks also to Reetchick for beta. She gave me some great suggestions -- if anything sounds odd, it's undoubtedly due to one of the few suggestions she made that I *didn't* take. Also thank you to Ardent Muses, who got me thinking about *why* I was so stalled on this thing.

* * *

The fragrance of the jungle surrounds him like an old familiar skin. The scents are spicy and green and sharp and fill his eyes with sudden tears. 

This is home. 

He knows it's not real, knows it's only a dream. He remembers who he is: Jim Ellison, detective and Sentinel of Cascade, Washington. This is not the same jungle he knew in Peru; this is a jungle he's never been in before, but the inexplicable feeling of _home_ remains. 

There is movement to his right, and out of the jungle comes a man who smiles at him with such love it nearly takes his breath away. 

It's Blair. 

And yet... it's not Blair. Or at least not the Blair he knows. The man coming towards him is taller and dressed like a Chopec shaman, with painted patterns across his face and tiny braids tangled in his long, straight hair. His face is rounder, too, his jawline less sharply angled than Blair's. And instead of deep blue eyes, this man's eyes are a dark, rich brown. 

But it's Blair's spirit that shines out of them. 

The man who-is-but-isn't-Blair comes forward and lays a hand on Jim's arm. "Come, the feast is almost ready. The villagers are eager to celebrate with their Sentinel." 

In the way of dreams, Jim understands the language perfectly, although he's never heard it before. It's not English and it's not quite Quechua, and Jim finds himself answering in the same tongue. 

"One moment more with you, beloved," he hears himself say. 

_Beloved?_

The man who is-but-isn't-Blair cups Jim's face in strong hands and leans forward until Jim can feel the man's warm breath on his face. "The sooner we go to the feast, the sooner they will give us leave to be alone," his companion murmurs, sounding so much like Blair that Jim's heart suddenly aches with a deep, sharp longing. He leans slightly forward... 

The memories surge through him at the first touch of their lips. Memories of this jungle, of the life he leads here as a Sentinel, and the love he shares with this man, his Guide. This man who-is-but-isn't-Blair. 

The kiss ends and Jim opens his eyes, slightly dazed with both passion and the knowledge that this is who they once were, this is who they are, this is who they will always be. 

The man who-is-but-isn't-Blair smiles knowingly and Jim watches as he slowly morphs into the familiar figure of blue eyed, curly-haired Blair Sandburg. His best friend. His beloved. 

* * *

Jim jerked awake with a start, heart thundering in his chest. The jungle was gone. He was home, in his bed, in Cascade. He could hear Blair's heart pounding from the bedroom downstairs, and Jim had a sudden suspicion that they'd once again shared a vision. He listened as Blair took a deep breath to steady himself, and kept listening as Blair got out of bed and padded into the kitchen. 

Jim lay there for a long time, tracking Blair's movements downstairs and turning the dream around in his head. The individual memories of that life were already fading, but the memory of the depth of the love between them remained. 

How had he not known what they were supposed to be to each other? He closed his eyes at the memory of his panther colliding with Blair's wolf. He _had_ always known. Somewhere in his heart he'd known that the feelings between them ran deeper than friendship, but he just hadn't wanted to deal with it. His life was complicated enough without falling in love with his best friend. 

But he'd fallen in love anyway, and no matter how good he was at denying his feelings - and _damn_ but he was good at that, wasn't he? - they were still there, waiting to be acknowledged. It was long past time to come clean about how he really felt, to himself and to Blair. After throwing on a t-shirt and sweat pants, Jim descended the stairs. 

Blair was drinking a cup of tea, leaning against the counter with a thoughtful expression on his face. A cloud of peppermint-scented steam visible only to Sentinel eyes surrounded him. Their eyes met and held as Jim came down the stairs and walked over to the kitchen island. 

Blair put his mug down on the counter. "Y'know, I just had the damnedest dream." 

"Yeah, Chief, so did I." 

"I dreamed I was in the jungle." 

"I know. I was there." 

Blair nodded slowly. "Yeah, you were. You looked... really different, but I knew it was you." 

Jim took a deep breath, gathered up his courage and closed the distance between them until they stood only inches apart. "What would you say if I told you I'm ready to take that trip with you now?" 

Blair looked up at him, his expression solemn. "I'd ask you if you were sure. And I mean _really_ sure, Jim. Because I don't think I could take it if you changed your mind later." 

Jim reached out and cupped Blair's face with his hands, echoing the touch of the man in the dream. His right thumb moved slowly over Blair's cheekbone and he watched as the blue eyes drifted closed at the caress. "I'm sure. I think I've been on this trip with you all along and just didn't know." 

Blair's eyes flew open and he pulled Jim's head down so their lips were almost touching. 

"Well, it's about _time_ ," Blair said, and kissed him. 

The shock of Blair's mouth on his was like a jolt of electricity. He could taste Blair, and peppermint, and all around him the air was full of the heady scent of arousal rising off of both of them. Blair's mouth opened under his and as the kiss deepened, more memories came to the surface. Memories of this life with Blair were interspersed with memories of other lives, other times, the only constant being that they always spent them together. 

Blair finally broke the kiss and looked up at Jim. "I thought you'd never get here, man," he said hoarsely. 

"I didn't mean to make you wait so long," Jim said. 

"I know." 

"I'm here now." 

Blair smiled then, the same brilliant, loving smile he'd had in the dream when he'd worn another man's face. For a split second, Jim thought he saw the face of the man in the dream superimposed over Blair's. 

This is who they once were. This is who they are. This is who they will always be. 

Together. 

* * *

End Old Souls by Rhiannon-Jehane: ladyjehane@aol.com

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Disclaimer: _The Sentinel_ is owned etc. by Pet Fly, Inc. These pages and the stories on them are not meant to infringe on, nor are they endorsed by, Pet Fly, Inc. and Paramount. 


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